For serious James Bond fans, those who delve into the written word of 007, not just the movies, it sometimes might feel like Ian Fleming invented the entire literary spy genre. This, of course, isn’t true; Bond had a few vague antecedents before Fleming’s Casino Royale was published in 1953. Fleming’s actual work in British Intelligence played a role in shaping Bond, as did the real-life figure Gus March-Phillipps. In literature, the Bulldog Drummond books are often cited as a precursor to Bond, but there’s actually one book from 1946 that may have been the most pivotal influence on Fleming in creating 007.
As part of the first-ever James Bond Book Club, Ian Fleming Publications has just selected the 1946 novel The Lifeline, written by Phyllis Bottome. This new James Bond Book Club will explore works beyond the Bond books that reflect the essence or have some connection to the famous spy.
With The Lifeline, the story takes place in 1938 and is all about a teacher named Mark Chalmers, who is asked by British Intelligence to parachute into Austria to bring vital information to a British agent, embedded in Nazi territory. Here’s why it’s the Bond before Bond.
The Lifeline as a Predecessor to James Bond
“We’ve picked TheLifeline as the first James Bond Book Club recommendation not only because of its exploration of espionage but also because of its connection to Ian Fleming,” the official Ian Fleming website reveals. As a young man, Ian attended a language school in Austria run by Bottome [the author of The Lifeline] and her husband Alban Ernan Forbes Dennis, who was also a spy. (For more on this, check out the incredible recent biography by Nicholas Shakespeare called Ian Fleming: The Complete Man.)
“Chalmers, The Lifeline‘s protagonist, goes on a moral journey and hints at the kind of hero Fleming would later create,” the Bond Book Club explains. “Scholars often point to The Lifeline as a spiritual precursor to James Bond, exploring moral complexity and the post-war psyche from a more humanistic angle. It’s thought to have deeply influenced Fleming’s vision of duty, danger, and decency… the DNA of Bond himself.”
Can you resist? Vintage Bond before Bond might be a perfect end-of-the-year present for all kinds of 007 fans.
